


Reye's Syndrome

by Sharcade



Series: Whump Challenge [3]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Hospitalization, Major Illness, Nervousness, Pain, Sick Character, Sickfic, Unconsciousness, Vomiting, Whump, whump challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-05 22:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16375982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Harrison finds a sick camper in the woods in the middle of the night and realizes fairly quickly just how dangerous the situation might be.





	Reye's Syndrome

Sometimes, Harrison didn't sleep well.

It wasn't a matter of nightmares or insomnia, sometimes he just wasn't tired. Harrison sometimes wondered if perhaps it was a side effect of his abilities; he just tended to have more energy in his body than others. On nights like that, he would take a walk around the campgrounds. David and Gwen knew about it, and while David had been a little hesitant to allow it at first, Harrison had promised that he would stay safe, and he had. He would only go out for a few minutes most nights, circling the grounds and working up some exhaustion before returning to bed. Most nights were uneventful. The same could not be said about this night.

Harrison heard plenty of noises when he roamed the grounds. He would hear the wind in the trees, the quiet conversations of campers up late in the night, the sounds of animals moving about in the treeline, all common things to hear at a camp. What he didn't often hear was the sound of somebody throwing up in the woods.

"Hello-?" Harrison called hesitantly, holding his hat to his chest cautiously as his eyes scanned the treeline. "Is somebody there?"

Silence.

"Are you okay?" he continued, taking a step towards the trees as the quiet sound of coughing echoed through the quiet night. "You don't sound well."

"Harrison...?"

"Max?" Harrison muttered in confusion, brushing aside some leaves and stepping further into the forest.

Sure enough, the younger camper was propped up against a tree, panting softly and wiping his mouth. Harrison glanced down cautiously, spotting the substantial pool of vomit that had gathered below Max; he had clearly thrown up more than once. Harrison wondered how long he had been out here.

"F'ck off," Max slurred, his eyes falling closed. "Why are you even...out here...?"

Something about the way Max spoke didn't sound right, his words slurred together with tones of confusion, the camper looking as if he could pass out at any second.

"Sometimes I walk around at night," Harrison explained offhandedly, approaching Max. "Are you alright?"

Max shook his head dizzily, blinking a few times to regain his senses as he looked up at Harrison, still barely propped up against the tree. Harrison was beginning to grow nervous, it wasn't like Max to act this vulnerable around anybody, especially somebody he didn't particularly like, and it was  _definitely_ not like Max to admit that he wasn't feeling well. Harrison supposed it would be fairly difficult to hide regardless.

"My legs are..." Max started, his words trailing off breathily as his legs gave out.

"Woah-!" Harrison yelped, quickly catching Max before the boy could hit the ground. "Um, should I get a counsellor or-?!"

"No!" Max snapped suddenly, clinging to Harrison's arms as the magician struggled to hold him up. "Don't you fucking  _dare_ , Harrison!"

Harrison hesitated slightly, slinging Max's arm over his shoulders as the younger camper gagged softly and shuddered. Max sounded as if he was barely conscious, just sort of mumbling out whatever thoughts came to mind as Harrison tried to prop Max up against his hip. Max was making no attempt to support his own weight, a fact that made things even more difficult for the magician as he struggled out of the forest.

"Where are we?" Max mumbled exhaustedly, his head dropping against Harrison's shoulder before rolling back off unceremoniously.

"We're at the camp," Harrison informed nervously; Max was seriously out of it. "Where is your tent?"

"My...My tent?" Max parroted in confusion. "Um..."

Harrison felt his chest beginning to tighten. He was already worried - Max was a friend, and even though he was a rude and obnoxious friend, Harrison still worried about him when he saw him sick. But seeing Max like this, completely out of it, Harrison was genuinely scared. Max wasn't okay. This could be serious. The vomiting was concerning enough, but Max was disoriented, Max was barely conscious, Max was practically collapsing and could barely piece together what was happening around him. That meant something might be wrong with Max's head. If something was wrong with Max's head, it could be critical.

"Don't worry about it," Harrison sighed, observing that Max was still wracking his brain for his tent. "Do you know what happened?"

"M'fine," Max muttered, staggering slightly as he struggled on his feet. "M' _fine._ "

Harrison bit his lip, hoisting Max back up against his hip as his eyes darted around. The counsellor's cabin; he really had to get a counsellor, this could be more serious than he knew. At the same time, there was no way Max could walk that far, Harrison was having trouble keeping him upright as it was, and there was no way Max would let Harrison carry him. He wondered if he would be able to wake anybody up to help him - a thought that died out quickly; Max would kill him if he drew attention to any of this. Harrison's heart was drumming in his chest; he was panicking. 

"Harrison?" Max slurred tiredly, slumping against Harrison's side and drawing a weak fist to his mouth. "M'gonna be sick."

"You're going to throw up?" Harrison repeated quickly, his eyes darting around. "Ah, hold on a second."

Harrison propped Max back up again, the smaller camper paling as his nails dug into Harrison's shoulder. Max seemed to be giving him a little bit of effort now, his forcing his legs to move as Harrison lead him back to the treeline. Max wasn't heavy, he was actually fairly small. Harrison, in comparison, was fairly tall for his age, making it hard for him to properly hold Max up without lifting him off the ground. Nonetheless, Harrison managed to get Max back to the forest, gently resting the camper against the nearest tree and taking a slight step back.

Within seconds, Max turned, balancing weakly against the tree as he vomited onto the ground once again. Harrison turned away, rocking idly on his heels as he waited, still wringing his hands nervously. Maybe he could leave Max here and run to get a counsellor, he seemed to be able to hold his own weight against the tree, it probably wouldn't take too long for Harrison to get David and Gwen.

"Harrison?" Max called weakly, panting. 

"Ah- Yeah? Sorry," Harrison stammered, hurrying over to Max and slinging Max's arm over his shoulder once again.

"Thought you left," Max mumbled, his head rolling forward pathetically as his eyes fell closed.

He almost looked dead, a thought that chilled Harrison all over again. Max could be seriously sick, he could be injured. Harrison hesitated slightly; he was going to have to make a decision here before something went seriously wrong. Swallowing, Harrison hoisted Max onto his back, Max letting out a quick yelp of surprise before practically going limp against the magician.

"Th'fuck are you doing?!" Max slurred, smacking at Harrison lightly with a weak hand.

"You can't walk," Harrison answered. "And I need to get you help."

"M'gonna fucking kill you," Max whimpered tiredly, his head resting on Harrison's shoulder lifelessly as Harrison began walking towards the counsellor's cabin. "M'tired."

"Don't fall asleep," Harrison insisted quickly.

Harrison wasn't sure what had happened, he didn't know if Max was sick or if he was injured. If Max had a concussion, he wasn't supposed to sleep, right? Harrison thought he had heard that somewhere before. There was a speck of worry burrowed in his heart that no matter  _what_ had happened, if Max fell asleep, he might not wake up again. Harrison shook his head slightly, he couldn't think like that, he just had to get a counsellor right now.

He could feel Max slipping slightly down his back, Harrison hoisting him back up quickly and peering over his shoulder to check that Max was still awake. The camper's eyes were open, Max blinking exhaustedly as he struggled to follow Harrison's instructions.

"Max, I mean it," Harrison continued, picking up his pace slightly. "Don't fall asleep."

"Fucking Christ Harrison," Max spat, his words forced out and still barely audible. "I'm awake."

Harrison nodded slightly, sighing in relief as they arrived at the counsellor's cabin. The lights were out, meaning David and Gwen had probably gone to sleep already, but Harrison didn't care much at the moment. Holding Max up the best he could with one arm, Harrison pounding on the door, resorting to kicking when Max began to slip again.

"Gwen? David?" he called, Max flinching at his volume. "I need help!"

It took a few more seconds of kicking before the door finally swung open, Gwen rubbing her eye tiredly as she glanced down at Harrison. She looked as confused as she did annoyed, only seeming slightly more awake when she spotted Max.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked exhaustedly, kneeling down to Harrison's level and eyeing Max.

"What's going on?" David called, yawning as he approached the door. "Harrison?"

"Um-" Harrison started, his words catching in his throat as his nerves began to take hold of him. "I-I was out walking around and- and I found Max in the woods throwing up, he can't walk, I don't know what's wrong, he's really out of it."

"What?" Gwen mumbled, suddenly seeming fully alert as she cupped Max's cheek, looking over his face. "Shit, David, get down here."

David wasted no time in kneeling down, carefully lifting Max from Harrison's back. He propped the camper up against his knee, Max swatting lightly at David in annoyance as the counsellor quickly looked over him. The fact that Gwen and David looked as nervous as he felt made him feel slightly better in a way, but also meant that he probably wasn't overreacting, meaning this was probably something serious. Harrison swallowed.

"Harrison," David began, forcing a smile. "Thank you for helping out, you should probably head back to your tent now and get some rest."

David didn't waste another second in scooping up Max and carrying him inside, Gwen watching nervously before returning her attention to Harrison. Harrison must have looked about as worried as he felt judging by the look on Gwen's face, one of sympathy and understanding. 

"Hey kid," Gwen sighed, standing up and fishing her phone out of her pocket. "Don't fuck around with any of my social media and I'll let you take this. Then we'll text you if there's any updates, okay? You'll be the first to know."

Harrison nodded nervously, taking the phone and looking it over. David had given out his phone once or twice to Max, but Gwen never let  _anybody_ touch her phone, it was one of the only nice things she had at this camp.

"Thank you," Harrison mumbled, holding the phone close to him carefully.

"Don't mention it. Just try to get some sleep, alright? Everything's gonna be okay.

"R-Right..." Harrison sighed, squaring his shoulders. "Right."

* * *

Harrison felt uneasy. He hadn't seen Max in at least a week, and the fact that he and Max's closest friends were now being ushered through the hospital made him feel a little sick with nerves. Gwen had kept her promise, texting him frequently about Max's condition from David's phone, informing Harrison any time they found out something new. He scrolled through the texts, reading each one over again as they walked down the hall.  _We called an ambulance. We're heading to the hospital. Max is in intensive care. They're saying it's Reye's Syndrome. They're treating him. He's not awake yet._

Harrison swallowed.

_You saved his life, Harrison._

"Do you think they made him into a cyborg?" Nikki questioned, skipping down the hall as Neil wrung his hands, looking about as nervous as Harrison did.

"I doubt it," Neil replied, his energy not able to keep up with Nikki's own. "But he's awake and the doctor said he's going to be fine."

Harrison hadn't spoken much, he was fairly certain Neil and Nikki didn't even know why he was here. Gwen had driven the three of them up to the hospital early this morning, David staying at the hospital with Max, leaving Quartermaster to run the camp. Harrison didn't want to know how that was working out.

"He's in here," Gwen explained, nodding at Max's hospital room as she stopped walking. "He knows you guys are coming, so don't worry about that."

"Even me?" Harrison questioned quietly, raising a hand.

"Even you."

Neil and Nikki wasted no time in entering the room, Gwen and Harrison lingering outside for a moment as Harrison attempted to work up the nerve to enter. Max had been pissed at him that night, but he had also been completely out of it. Despite Max telling Harrison to fuck off and threatening to kill him, he had also sounded pathetically worried when he thought Harrison had left him in the woods. In truth, Harrison had no idea how Max felt about him right now. Harrison almost wanted to just run away, it might be easier than seeing Max in this state.

"Harrison?"

"Sorry," Harrison mumbled, shaking his head free of the thoughts. "Yeah?"

"He asked where you were as soon as he woke up," Gwen informed tiredly, offering a small smile. "You should probably get in there."

Harrison could barely believe what he was hearing.

The magician gave a small nod, taking a deep breath before walking into the hospital room. Max was sitting up now, a fact that relieved Harrison slightly for reasons he couldn't quite pin. Neil and Nikki were situated on either side of his bed, Neil feverishly asking him questions about his condition as Nikki eyed his IV hungrily, her fingers creeping towards it slowly.

"Don't fucking touch that," Max snapped, jerking his hand away from Nikki's fingers. "I need that to live or some shit."

"Ooh, did you get a heat blanket?!" Nikki beamed, slapping a hand onto Max's blanket.

"Opposite," Max corrected. "It's a cooling blanket or something, I dunno."

"Are you cold?!"

"Little bit. Not really."

Harrison flinched as Max's eyes finally fell on him, the boy's expression unreadable. Harrison didn't move any closer, wringing his hands nervously as his chest began to tighten again. He didn't know what he was so worried about.

"Hey, can you guys take five?" Max asked, glancing at Neil and Nikki. "I wanna talk to Magic Kid for a sec."

Neil nodded unsurely, glancing at Harrison before grabbing Nikki by the strap of her overalls and leading her out of the room, following suit. Harrison watched Max anxiously, approaching when the boy beckoned him over.

"So," Max started, seemingly a little nervous himself. "You saved my life, huh?"

"I-I don't know about that," Harrison deflected. "I just found you and brought you to the counsellor's cabin."

_He had absolutely saved Max's life._

"Well, I mean, either way," Max continued, wringing his hands just slightly. "Thanks Harrison. I owe you one."

"You really don't owe me anything," Harrison insisted. "But I'm glad that you're okay."

A few moments of silence passed, the quiet beeping of Max's heart rate monitor the only thing that filled the space. Seeing Max awake and alert had overwhelmed Harrison with relief; he had been terrified when he had to carry Max to the counsellor's cabin, he had been terrified that Max would die. At the time, he had considered it an overreaction; he was just being paranoid, he was sure of it, but seeing Max hooked up to all these machines, seeing Max in the hospital? It made it all real, it made Harrison shaky over the fact that  _Max could have died._  

"But you're okay now, right?" Harrison asked, finally shattering the silence. "You'll be fine?"

"Yeah Harrison, I'll be fine," Max assured, fighting back a small smile. "Thanks for saving me. You're not so fucking terrible after all."

That was the Max that Harrison knew.

"And thanks for visiting. That..." Max paused, seemingly struggling with the sentiment. "It means a lot. So thanks."

"Can we come back in now?" Neil called from the hall, snapping Harrison out of the moment.

"Yeah, get your asses in here!" Max called, Neil and Nikki bounding in quickly.

Harrison watched as the trio continued to chat amongst themselves, it was relieving to see. Everything was going to go back to normal when they got back to camp, everything was going to be fine.  _Max_ was going to be fine.

Harrison had never been more relieved.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I now have an official Tumblr! Feel free to stop by and drop a request!
> 
> https://sharcade-involved.tumblr.com/


End file.
